Timothy Hutton was so taken with the script for ABC’s taut new drama “American Crime” that he asked if he could meet with creator-writer John Ridley and producer Michael McDonald for 10 minutes the next day. He wasn’t exactly around the corner, though. When they agreed, he hopped on a plane from New York City and flew to Los Angeles.

“Everything just jumped off the page,” says Oscar winner Hutton. “I was interested in every character when I read the script.”

A friend gave Felicity Huffman a copy of the script, and she too immediately wanted to be part of the series. So ABC, her network when she was on “Desperate Housewives,” set up a meeting for her. It turned out to be at 11 a.m. the morning after Ridley won the best screenplay Oscar for “12 Years a Slave.”

“I was fascinated because the character I play is so monomaniacal,” says Emmy winner and Oscar nominee Huffman.

Such is the power of the material in the 11-episode limited series. Ridley says he was surprised when ABC and McDonald came to him around the time “12 Years a Slave” was being released to create a series that would push the envelope the way “American Crime” tries.

The series, premiering Thursday, is set in Modesto and examines the personal lives of those involved in the aftermath of a racially charged crime. Hutton stars as Russ, the father of Matt, a veteran who was murdered in a home-invasion robbery. Matt’s wife, Gwen, lies in a coma and has been sexually assaulted.

Huffman plays Russ’ ex-wife, Barb, who raised their sons as a single mother because of his gambling addiction. When suspects are arrested, they all turn out to be of color.

As the investigation and court case progress, the picture is constantly changing. Though nine of the episodes had been written before the series started shooting in Austin, Texas, Ridley would only give scripts to the cast a week before the filming of an episode.

“I didn’t really want the actors to get ahead of things,” says Ridley. “A lot of what was happening was about being in the moment and reacting to it. I wanted to convey a sense of real time.”

Hutton says, “Not having full knowledge of the character’s arc was an interesting process,” but he absolutely trusted Ridley. “You didn’t have to worry about things you normally would.”

Huffman agreed. “I loved it because we were telling a closed-end story and could just concentrate on work for four months. Period. I loved not knowing exactly where my character was going.”

While “American Crime” was filming, the event in Ferguson, Mo., occurred. While it didn’t impact anything that went into the scripts, it did reflect in some ways what the series was about.

“I think when we originally started working on this show, we were at a space where there were times where I thought, ‘Well, maybe we’re not relevant anymore. Maybe we’ve moved past certain things,’ ” says Ridley. “And then as the show was moving along, very sadly, I realized that we were actually predating some things and that the reality is that, unfortunately, these events remain cyclical in this country.”

Hutton says the title “American Crime” does not necessarily refer to “doing something against the law but about how we treat each other — the crime of having preconceived ideas.”

Huffman’s character is a closet racist, and is determined to make someone pay for her son’s death. She dismisses a black police detective when she tries to question her and refers to anyone of color as “those people.”

“I think on the surface the series is a snapshot of America in a headline kind of way,” says Huffman, “from the victims to the crime to the judicial system and ideas of justice. What’s interesting is that it is not following the crime but more about the 360 degree of people who were affected by the tragedy.”

Racism, though, is evident everywhere. “The Shield’s” Benito Martinez plays the father of one of the Latino suspects. A straight arrow, he hates the gang associations around him, but has alienated his daughter by his repudiation of his heritage. Regina King plays the Muslim sister of another suspect, a meth-head (Elvis Nolasco) who left his family for a white junkie.

Past transgressions are never far away, and other secrets are revealed. Penelope Ann Miller and W. Earl Brown play the parents of the victim’s wife, who painfully find out about their daughter’s secret.

Ridley says “A lot of people just automatically think California is wildly a blue state, but it’s a complex state.” He wanted to set the series in Modesto because “It’s just big enough and small enough that an event like this could take on its own emotional velocity in a way that it takes over a space.”

Is network television ready for something so emotionally raw as “American Crime”? Ridley — who has worked on such diverse fare as “Martin,” “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and “Third Watch” — thinks the landscape is changing.

“You look at ‘Black-ish’ and ‘Modern Family’ and how people are responding to them,” he says. “So maybe they want to present a drama that looks at the way American society is through the story of a crime.”

Ridley says it was great he could tell a story in a longer arc and not have to draw a conclusion in 44 minutes. On the other hand, says Huffman, having just 11 episodes means “Anything can happen.”

Rob Lowman began at the L.A. Daily News working in editing positions on the news side, including working on Page 1 the day the L.A. Riots began in 1992. In 1993, he made the move to features, and in 1995 became the Entertainment Editor for 15 years. He returned to writing full time in 2010. Throughout his career he has interviewed a wide range of celebrities in the arts. The list includes the likes of Denzel Washington and Clint Eastwood to Kristin Stewart and Emma Stone in Hollywood; classical figures like Yo Yo Ma and Gustavo Dudamel to pop stars like Norah Jones, Milly Cyrus and Madonna; and authors such as Joseph Heller, John Irving and Lee Child. Rob has covered theater, dance and the fine arts as well as reviewing film, TV and stage. He has also covered award shows and written news stories related to the entertainment business. A longtime resident of Santa Clarita, Rob is still working on his first more-than-30-year marriage, has three grown children (all with master's degrees) and five guitars.